These 4-Wheelers Ride The Rails

These 4-Wheelers Ride The Rails AG WORLD 31-5-22 Ron Forster developed his first four-wheel cart for riding abandoned rail lines about 30 years ago. He's been making them ever since. "My first cart had a lawn mower wheel with metal flanges to hold them to the rails," he recalls. He later changed to plastic wheels. He had a mold made that would accept a BMX bike wheel. Pouring polyeurethane around the bike wheel gave him a 17-in. railroad wheel with a flange that weighed only 12 lbs. He has been making and selling them ever since. Wheels go for $175 each, or you can buy his 2 or 4-passenger carts that start at about $1,800. "I use the same material that's used to make roller coaster wheels at Disneyland," says Forster. "I have customers still using wheels I made back in 1976." He has shipped his four-wheelers and wheels all over the world. A recent order from a refinery in Germany will be used to move workers around the grounds. One customer called from Holland asking about the wheels. A week later he showed up at Forster's door, took a set for a ride and then bought them to take home. Not all rail four-wheelers are pedal power either. Forster will motorize his rigs upon request. While the price varies depending on the size of the motor, a 5 1/2-hp Honda with keyway in the back axle, sprocket, chain, clutch and mounting will add $600 to the cost of a Rail Runner. Most customers use theirs simply to ride abandoned rail lines set aside for recreational use. Others are members of North American Railcar Operators Association (NARCOA) and go on approved tours, often on operating rail lines. "I have an 84-year-old customer in New Jersey who clears brush from a rail line in exchange for the use of it," says Forster. "A lot of guys work with tourist railroads and offer to inspect tracks and clear them in exchange for track use." Forster says blind and disabled people enjoy using the equipment on rails. To help them, he designed a special vehicle called the Railrider. With its low-slung, low center of gravity, high back seats, safety belts and shoulder harnesses, it gives them a sense of freedom with security, he notes. It can be propelled by arm or leg and requires no balancing or steering. To promote the practice, he has even started the nonprofit Enabling Sport Foundation (ESF). It promotes setting aside rails for public use. "Our purpose is to convert some tracks into recreational parks where everyone, including the blind and people with disabilities, can come and enjoy the sport of rail riding," says Forster. "New Hampshire has endorsed the concept and given ESF several areas with track to use as our own local project. If you want to save abandoned railroad track to provide recreational opportunities for all in your state, we can guide you." Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Railriders or The Enabling Sport Foundation, both are at: 100 Memorial Street, Franklin, N.H. 03235 (ph 603 934-1938; railriders@verizon.net; www.railriders.net).

To read the rest of this story, download this issue below or click here to register with your account number.